


Fever Warmth

by obviouslyelementary



Series: Garashir [4]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Established Relationship, Fever, Flu, Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, Sick Character, Sick Fic, Sick Julian, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26049844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obviouslyelementary/pseuds/obviouslyelementary
Summary: Julian gets sick in a mission, and Garak has to take care of him.
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Series: Garashir [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879216
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79





	Fever Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted Garak to cuddle Julian when he's very warm from a fever, nothing more.

A virus.

A small, little, insignificant, barely considered alive form of microorganism, was doing that to his Julian.

Unbelievable.

"Don't you have diseases in Cardassia?" Major Kira asked upon seeing his slightly concerned comment, despite how angry and actually worried he felt inside. He could still mask his emotions, despite how strong they were towards his doctor.

"Of course we do. I just never saw a human while sick, that is all" Garak responded, wanting to be colder and ruder to the major but fighting against it. There was no need to show the bajoran how worried he truly was. The group of officers were all watching Julian through a forcefield, while the nurses tended to him on the bed, all protected. After a mission gone right, Julian returned with some new type of virus the station had never seen, and they were being cautious in case it could be transmitted to others. Garak was not fan of that idea, specially since he couldn't see his Julian, couldn't hold his hand and tell him stories to make him smile.

No, all he could do was stand next to all of those federation officers and watch as bajoran nurses tended to him, gave him medication and stopped the worst symptoms. He looked small and weak, clearly cold by how much he was shivering, sneezing and coughing all the time, whining softly behind the forcefield.

Garak couldn’t wait to get closer to him again.

"We should return to Ops. I am sure the nurses will take good care of him" Sisko said, after a few minutes. They hadn't been there for half an hour and already wanted to leave Julian alone? Well fine, Garak wasn't going to complain in his behalf. The major nodded without much hesitance and Odo was already gone, only Jadzia giving the doctor a last glance before following the commander out. Garak remained still, looking at Julian, hoping his concern wasn't showing in his eyes.

He stayed in the infirmary for an hour before the bajoran nurses were able to settle Julian down and begin studying the virus. Garak didn't care, he promised himself he wasn't going to leave, but after the nurses insisted they would call him at any news, he decided (against his good judgment) to go back to his store, at least for the time being.

Despite returning to his workplace, he wasn't able to focus on anything really. Luckily he was so used with this new profession that he didn't exactly have to focus to do the most basic of things, mending a few dresses, pants and shirts instead of working on new pieces as he had planned to do, simply because he couldn't take Julian's pained face out of his head.

When, he asked himself, did his affection towards the good doctor stopped being something to simply smile upon and began honestly affecting his good judgment? This... relationship they had been nursing for over a year now was awfully concerning, all things considered, but Garak couldn't simply give up at this point. He had become reliant on the doctor, his warmth and smiles, and everything else he offered so tenderly.

He would never understand the human condition called 'love', but he enjoyed it nevertheless.

Three hours after he had returned to his shop, he received a message from the nurses telling him to return. He did it right away, although not showing any rush, stopping next to the door as one of them walked out, seeming relieved.

"Mister Garak. Julian is still sick, but we have discovered the virus will not be dangerous to the station. Considering that the next recommendations are rest, hydration and sleep, we decided he would be better off in his quarters" she explained, and Garak felt extremely relieved at that, despite just giving her a simple nod. "I will be giving you the hyposprays he will be needing for the next five days at least, and he is also off duty for a week. We need someone to keep an eye on him... would you do us that favor?"

Having to stare at a bajoran woman that was grinning at him as if she knew anything should have caused a negative reaction on Garak, as it usually did. But her eyes glistened with something akin to amusement, and truly, he couldn't blame her. He and Julian had been, well, 'out' for a few months now, and the station was slowly coming to terms with that unlikely relationship, including the bajorans that trusted the doctor. It wasn't easy, but he was glad they had a supporter in Julian's line of work.

"Of course. I will watch over him" he agreed, walking inside while following her. She reached for the medical kit with all the medication Julian would need, and handed it to Garak before taking him to the room where Julian was now sleeping in. He did look small and far too young for his own good like this, asleep, curled up in a biobed, covered with blankets and still shivering slightly.

"We will beam him over to his quarters. Let us know when you have arrived" she said, and Garak gave her a nod before making his way out. He wanted to touch Julian, make sure he was alive in an instinctive sense, but he knew he was stable and would not give that bajoran girl any more pleasures.

Once in Julian's room, he called the infirmary, and soon Julian was beamed over with the bed and everything. He did not wake up, clearly sedated, and Garak took the opportunity to gently caress Julian's face, feeling how warm he was indeed. A fever, as humans called.

He picked Julian up with relative ease from the bed, the man in his arms curling up and pressing his face to Garak's chest, still shivering despite how warm he was. Garak then took him to his bed, laying him down and covering him up with blankets, warning the nurses to beam the bed back down, before he sat down next to Julian, his worries finally able to surface.

Despite what he had said to the major, diseases such as this one were rare in Cardassia. Flu viruses, as Federation called them, were rarely that simple for his people. They had no endothermic regulation of their own, so to treat such diseases they tended to lower their temperature instead of rising it, as humans did, which usually lead to hypothermia and death. Flus were dangerous in Cardassia, making even the strongest of individuals remain in constant care for weeks, receiving hourly treatments if necessary.

For humans, though, it seemed it was something simple and ease to treat, with a few medications and a lot of rest and hydration. Still, even his extremely pragmatic mind didn't stop his heart from squeezing every time he saw Julian whimper and shiver underneath the pile of blankets.

For a moment he even considered rising the room's temperature, but that wouldn't do Julian any good. He needed to cool down, as he had learned from the doctor himself, and wait for his body to fight the virus off.

Cool down... Garak's eyes widened and his heart beat faster. Finally, he would be useful to his good doctor. He removed his clothing, leaving only the under garments on, and climbed on the bed next to Julian. He pulled the blankets over himself, already cold, and pulled the man back gently, in a cuddled hug, arms wrapped around his waist, head pressing against Julian's hair. He shivered further in contact with Garak's relatively cold skin, but settled after a moment, breathing deeply and returning to the medication induced sleep. Garak felt slightly bad for making his doctor cold, but it was a necessary step, and his feverish body was even warmer than usual, making Garak want to savor the feeling, wrapping himself as tightly as he could around Julian, with as much skin touching as possible, his warmth pouring on top of his cardassian body.

He seriously hoped Julian wouldn't mind.

Despite his constant need to watch over Julian, he knew that warmth would eventually lead him into a much-needed sleep, one he hadn't had since Julian had left the station to fulfil his mission. That being so, he dimmed the lights to 10%, only enough to be able to see in case of an emergency, and closed his eyes, hands travelling up and down Julian's back. He was warm all over, way too warm, around 39 degrees Celsius as the bajorans had explained to him, but the temperature would lower down with the medication. Medication Garak could not forget to give, so he asked for the computer to warn him at the proper times, before settling again, now sure everything was in order.

Unable to stop himself, Garak breathed Julian's hair deeply, and opened his mouth so he could scent his lover. It was all very Julian, of course, but he was curious to note the fever's cold sweat had different scents than the usual sweat he smelled on his lover. It was intriguing, and probably worth mentioning at another time, when Julian wasn't so deeply asleep against him, fighting off some disease. For now, Garak lingered in his mate's scent and smell, in his warmth and soft breathing, and allowed himself to drift off into a light sleep, a nap, as humans called, so he could also rest and provide Julian with the best of care.

By the time he woke up again, his stomach was complaining with hunger. Upon checking, he found his doctor still deep asleep, and reached for the nurse's medical kit for the tricorder, checking his health. His sleep was deeper, his heartbeat was slower, his breathing was steady, and his temperature now read 37 degrees Celsius, way in normal range for a human. Garak himself was so warm that he sighed, a tiny part of him wishing humans were warmer normally, but glad that his doctor was probably feeling better. He then decided to replicate himself something, knowing that whenever Julian woke up, he would probably be hungry and needy.

Garak slowly, very gently got out of his bed, kissing Julian's head in the process and making sure he was well covered up with the blankets. He wasn't shivering anymore, but it was good to remain cautious. Then, he walked out to the living room and requested some andorian soup, something he found comforting for nights such as this, sipping on it and checking for any new requests in his padd for clothes. He would have to postpone some, his doctor needed his full attention. He also made a quick search into human food, glad that the Federation wasn't even one percent as secretive as Cardassia, easily finding some called 'comfort foods' for humans in the catalog of preferred human dishes. He also discovered easily where Julian was from, taking that as his probable most liked dishes, and decided to replicate a 'leek and potato soup' for when he woke up.

He would never understand human's ability to eat vegetables for every single meal, but he digressed. After all, if it made his Julian comfortable, he would never second guess it.

After he was done eating up his own snack, Garak picked up a padd with one of the many stories Julian forced him to read and walked back to the bedroom to wait for his doctor to awake. He laid down once more, this time on top of the covers, wrapped in a fluffy robe and some of his favorite heatpads before opening the story and beginning to read. This time, Julian offered him something that wasn't classic in the slightest, one of the most recent works of a man called Ghideran Sebastian, however it talked about the 19-century earth, their costumes and beliefs. From what he could gather of his short research in Earth history, the nineteenth century was filled with conquests, new rising of power, discoveries, innovations in technology... quite fun, indeed. Not for a cardassian, but for a human, he could understand the appeal. Now, he hoped the book wasn’t as dreadful as the Shakespearean novels or the old Greek god tales. Those were certainly the worst.

As he read through the chapters, not all enticed by the reading but also not completely distasteful of it, be noticed a slight movement coming from his side. Putting the padd down, he noticed Julian mumbling and moving on the bed, until the point when the doctor groaned and blinked his eyes open, looking misty with sleep, tired. It was good, to see those brown eyes again, despite how bad Julian looked.

Also, the computer warned about the medication, and Garak reached for to the kit and picked up the correct hypospray, injecting Julian with the substance before he was awake enough to deny it.

" _Elim_?" he mumbled, barely above a breath, his voice weak and soft and somewhat broken. Garak did not like to see his doctor like this, not at all. He slid down until he was face to face with Julian, brushing his hair back, smiling kindly at him.

"Hello, my dear doctor" he whispered, not wanting to disturb him too much. Julian closed his eyes and leaned into his hand at the touch, letting out a sigh moments later, eyebrows furrowing despite of his eyes remaining closed.

"What... happened?" he asked, opening his eyes again with some difficulty, Garak knowing very well it was due to the sedatives he was given. "Where... am I?"

"In your quarters, my dear. You contracted some kind of virus from the planet you were visiting for your mission, luckily it was only a flu virus that cannot be passed to others through air or any easy means. Still, you are recommended to rest and hydrate as much as possible" he explained, savoring the small smile that curled up on Julian's sleepy face.

"And I am supposed to believe you are my nurse now?" he asked, voice still soft, but now sweet too, with a fondness so typical of Julian, his hand crawling out of the blankets to hold Garak's hand. He quite enjoyed it.

"That I am. A step closer to your dream of me, being a spy" he teased, their fingers tangling together as Julian moved them. "I was given all the medication you will require, together with some information about your overall health and a tricorder, to monitor your vital signs. I truly feel like going to a new field of operation, how would you like me as your nurse?"

Of course, he would never, but the chuckle that came out of Julian's sleepy face was more than pleasant, exactly what he was hoping to get.

"You hate doctors and nurses and... and hospitals... you would never be able to be my nurse, even if... even if I really wanted you to" he responded, squeezing Garak's hand a bit more and closing his eyes again. "I still... feel so tired..."

"You can sleep some more if you'd like, the nurses gave you some sedatives and medicines to counteract your symptoms, but as I understand your body will fight off the virus on its own. Very tricky and resilient, human bodies" Garak commented, while Julian opened his eyes again to stare annoyedly at him. "Although I would suggest that you at least ate something, my dear. I believed some... leek and potato soup would be of your liking."

"I hate that" he said, making a face of disgust. Oh well, another thing Garak got wrong about his human partner. He sighed then, cuddling up closer to Garak, pressing his face to his chest. "My mom used to do it for me when I was sick. It tastes awful, she made me eat it. I hate leeks."

"Very well, I would still suggest a soup of some kind, but whichever one you prefer will be good enough. It should warm you, and hydrate you as well" Garak said, brushing his hair back, watching Julian's head fondly. After a while in silence, Julian sighed and pulled away, looking up at Garak and blinking slowly.

"I could use some andorian soup" he said, and Garak held back a smile. He was rubbing off on the doctor, at least when good things were concerned.

"Very well. I will get one for you" he said, but before he could move, Julian's hand tightened on his and he whined softly. Garak turned his face to the man's, raising one of his eye ridges. "Yes?"

"Did you say the virus isn't... contagious?" he asked, and Garak nodded, wondering where this was going. He could see his doctor's cheeks turning pink, but they had been pink for the whole day due to his fever. "Then, could I get a kiss?"

Oh. Human softness in its natural state.

"Of course you can" Garak responded, his voice way too fond for his usual liking, but more and more he learned that being openly affective towards Julian wouldn't truly cause him any harm, as long as they were alone. He leaned down, allowing Julian to close the gap, his warm, soft and moist lips meeting nicely with his own cold, rough and dry ones.

They were so different, Julian and he, even in the simplest sense. Still, it was quite a delight, to find and explore those differences together.

The kiss was soft, sweet, short and chaste, but it wasn't bad at all. When he broke apart, Julian was smiling, and immediately pulled the pillow Garak was laying against towards himself, pressing his face into it.

There would take a few days for Julian to go back to full health. A few hours until he began insisting he was good enough for duty. For now, Garak would replicate him some soup, make him company and watch the doctor sleep to regain his strengths.

And maybe hope that next time he had a fever, they would still be able to cuddle up in the warmth.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are awesome!


End file.
